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The Pro Experience

2012-01-20T13:00:14Z

John, Jessie, and some of the campers at this year's ZenTri Camp

Some friends and I call hanging out with pro triathlete John Hirsch the "John Hirsch Experience." It really is amazing to see how a pro grabs life by the horns to get in all the training necessary to be successful. At ZenTri Base and Nutrition Camp, it's a total immersion program where you get to see some great athletes making it all work every day. It is an opportunity to learn a lot.

John biked between locations instead of driving a car. That's pretty cool, especially because the mileage that adds up is substantial. San Diego is great for this because there's bike lanes everywhere.

He also got up and moving with incredible efficiency in the mornings. I was sleeping in the same room as John at our camp, and was surprised how fast he got going. There was definitely no hitting the snooze button. His alarm went off, he got up, and his training day began right then. In comparison, I was trying to motivate myself to get up and get moving while he was already downstairs and making a pre-run snack.

John's early rises have a lot to do with his bedtime. I get made fun of for having an alarm on my phone that reminds me to go to sleep at 9:00 PM. Well, when my alarm went off, John had already been in bed for half an hour. Wow.

Jessi Stensland was at camp, too. She's an age-grouper now, but she was a world-class pro for many years. Her approach to food was great; she treated it as fuel for the day and didn't get caught up in any kind of emotional eating. Eat right and train well was what it all boiled down to. The greatest part was that she eats so focused, but doesn't seem to work at it at all.

I love coming home from camp and putting into practice what I saw around me. No matter how much somebody tries to tell you how to get it all done, nothing is quite like seeing it in action.

Here's to a great start to the year and hopefully seeing you at next year's camp!

While We Were at Camp...

2012-01-19T14:34:38Z

Ah, back at the old grindstone. A couple of interesting bombs dropped while we were gone. Let's check them out!

Cervelo introduces a human-powered wingsuit motorcycle hybrid. Also known as the P5, this freak of aerodynamics is pretty cool. And when you pass the heaving fat guy on one while riding your 15 year-old road bike, you'll be reminded more than ever that, "it's not about the bike."

The most incredible person ever quits being incredible, leaving thousands of people wondering how they will be incredible if she doesn't do it for them. Chrissie Wellington is taking a year off of racing so she can focus on a book or whatever; all we know is it's NOT racing. Many of her fans pause for a confused look inward while her competition pretends to support her while secretly jumping in joy.

In essence, it's all the same stuff, showing that the world will keep moving on, whether you train or not. So, get in gear and get your work done, lest you get left behind.

If you enjoyed all the pictures and fun from ZenTri Base and Nutrition Camp, stay tuned! We will be creating a registration page for 2013 very shortly!.

- B

ZenTri Base Camp Update!

2012-01-15T17:22:12Z

Camp 2012 is fantastic! The location is unbelievable. We scored a large house only half a mile from the beach, so we go running and riding along the shore. With a 3-car garage, there's plenty of room for all the bikes. We also have lots of spare rooms, so we offered them up for campers to stay overnight at the house to add to the camp feel.

Coach Adam and Jessi Stensland continue to impress as the coaches we added to the original crew. They both are incredibly knowledgeble and their teaching skills are the best in the biz!

John beat me on the hill climb, and so did Ryan... on a tri bike! It was awesome to have something to train for and I'm thankful to have it on the schedule to keep me focused during the Winter.

Christine is throwing down some awesome food and nutrition knowledge. I am always so thankful that Coach Adam put us in touch years ago. She changed how I see food forever!

More later...

- B

ZenTri Base Camp Agenda

2012-01-15T17:03:40Z

Podcast - Happy New Year!

2012-01-13T02:34:59Z

Click Here to Listen to the Show!

This episode is two hours of The Training Log! I cover all kinds of training tips and tricks, how to do your best over the Holidays, how to recover from a major calf injury, and so much more.

I am writing this post at the kitchen table of ZenTri Base Camp! The house is incredible! It's only a few blocks from the San Diego beach and the weather is fantastic. (70 degrees and sunny.) We will be opening up registration for next year earlier this time, so follow me on Twitter for more details.

Enjoy!

Using Supersets to Save Time

2012-01-08T20:03:31Z

There is a proven method of lifting weights to get stronger that looks something like this - Lift a weight a bunch of times until you can't do it anymore (called repetitions or "reps"), then take a break for a minute or so, then do it again. Each time you a group of reps, that's called a "set." Doing about 3 sets of 12-18 reps each works really, really well.

So, I'm at the gym last week, trying to cram in a weight lifting session over my lunch hour. With the time it takes to drive there, back, and also pick up some food, I only actually have about 30 minutes to lift. By the way, you have to say, "lift" instead of "lifting weights" to be one of the cool kids. Just sayin'. Anyway, I was unhappy with how I wasn't going to get in as much workout time as I wanted, so I tried something different.

Instead of doing the old routine, I did one set and then immediately dropped the weight by half and kept going until I couldn't go any more. Half the weight as usual doesn't sound like much, but it's quite a bit if you're tired from just doing a set in the first place. It seemed to work really well; my legs were so weak when I was done, I could barely wobble to the water fountain.

I talked to a weightlfting expert co-worker later that same day. He told me the idea that I had "invented" was actually a well-known method called "supersets." Anything where you do one exercise one muscle group and then immediately do something else (or the same thing) again is a superset. Actually, a triathlon is probably the king of supersets, going right from the swim to the bike to the run.

A quick bit of research revealed why it is general practice to lift weights in multiple, separated sets; safety. If you tried to lift all the weight you could all at once or in just a few reps, you would most likely injure yourself. Doing less weight and spacing it out gives your muscles less initial load and time to warm up. Still, the whole goal is to completely fatigue the muscle to failure, so you have to do multiple sets of that medium weight to get the job done.

The beauty of a superset is that you start off with a known weight load that you have already established is safe. Injury problem solved, you drop that weight by half or even more as soon as you can't lift anymore of the first load. This weight is so light, you could easily do it forever except that you are already a tired from lifting the first, heavier weight. The result is your muscles are trembling and completely fatigued in about half the time it would take to do a series of sets using the classic method.

Remember, the whole point is to fatigue the muscles until they are completely worn out. However you get there is just a strategy, and strategies are all different based on the individual and time constraints. Supersets are an established and very effective method to save time to get the job done. Enjoy!

The Real Reason You Need Sleep

2012-01-06T17:28:12Z

There are many reasons to sleep at night, but the one that might be most important is something most people do not know. All day long, you keep adding more and more memories to your brain for it to keep up with. Like a computer, your head can only keep up with so many things before it fills up, crashes, or both.

When you sleep, your are basically turning off all your input devices and giving your brain time to sort through all the data it has collected over the past day. As it analyzes the information, it decides what to hold on to (write to the hard drive) and what to throw away. Important stuff gets recorded for the long haul and the nominal junk gets tossed to make more free space for tomorrow's inputs.

The big picture is like this: If you don't get enough quality sleep, your brain gets full. Your memory gets about as useful as a screen door on submarine. The flustering for solid results also affects your mood and decision-making skills, making you not very fun to be around.

For example, if you can't remember where you parked your car or where you left your keys, your head is too full of junk and you need some sleep. If you are grumpy and frustrated with others, you haven't sorted out your feelings overnight, decided what's really important in life, and need some sleep.

Now that you know all this, pay attention to yourself throughout the day and watch it work. It's cool stuff!

Get Out of Bed Earlier with the Chewing Gum Trick

2012-01-03T14:17:23Z

If you find yourself missing morning workouts because you are hitting the snooze button to frequently, I have a great trick for you and your groggy brain.

A study recently came out that showed chewing gum dramatically increased mental strength, enabling students to score much higher on tests than a control group. I read this and thought, "I sure could use that mental fortitude when trying to get up early to go swim!"

I put some cinnamon gum in the drawer of my nightstand and roll over and put a piece in my mouth when the alarm goes off in the morning. I've been doing this for the past two weeks, and without fail, I'm up and about in a great mood within five minutes. It really works!

This trick is not just useful for getting up early in the morning, but anytime you need a mental boost for a task. I have been doing it to prepare for working on a hard project or to boost my mood to go work out. Give it a try yourself and see what happens!

And don't forget to sign up for ZenTri Base Camp and save your spot here!

Base Training for Advanced Triathletes

2011-12-13T19:33:33Z

Click Here to Listen to the Show!

Learn how triathletes with some experience under their black belts should approach the base training season. Mike Ricci of D3 Multisport tells us how to train smarter while saving time.

After that, join me for a painful week of not being able to train while I recover from a vasectomy. We also capture audio of Emily telling what it was like to pull out my stitches and a race between me and Kai around the block on bikes. Lastly, we start to dive into wattage numbers from a PowerTap power meter.

And don't forget to sign up for ZenTri Base Camp and save your spot here!

Yoga for Runners

2011-12-09T13:05:22Z

Our good friend, triathlete, and Yoga instructor Fred Williams in Austin sent us this guest post. Thanks Fred!

Here is a five minute Yoga Interval (or sequence) that can be used daily as a warmup and cooldown before or after other workouts. This interval focuses on extending the core to expand the ribcage but is also a good all around maintenance routine for general flexibility in the hips, hamstrings, calves, and shoulders. And it only takes about five minutes. How cool is that!?